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(No Model.) 2 Sheetw-Sheet 1.. J. T. DWYER. INTERNAL STAY FOR TRUNKS,BOXES, &c.

No. 505,939.- Patented Oct. 3, 1893.

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J l Tl INTERNAL STAY FOR TRUNKS, BOXES, &0. N0!

Patented Oct. 3, 1893..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. DWYER, OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

INTERNAL STAY FOR TRUNKS, BOXES, 80c.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,939, dated October3, 1893.

Application filed July 31, 1891. Serial No. 401,330. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, JOHN THoMAs DWYER, of the city of Montreal, in thedistrict of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented acertain new and useful Improved Internal Stay for Trunks, Boxes, orother Receptacles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention has forits object to produce a device applicable to theinteriors of trunks, boxes or other receptacles, with a view topreventing the ends, front, back, top, bottom, edges, corners and theirvarious junctions from being smashed, forced outward or mate riallydamaged.

It consists of an arrangement of bearing plates in various forms securedto the weakest parts of the trunk or box or the parts thereof calledupon to bear the greatest strain, and stays removably connected togetherand with such plates. For full comprehension however of the invention,reference must be had to the annexed drawings, in which like symbolsindicate corresponding parts and wherein-- Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of an open trunk with trays removed to disclose my improved stay;Fig. 2 a plan view of the body of such trunk; Fig. 3 a verticaltransverse section of same on line o: 00 Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a detail of thestay in the lid; Fig. 5 a view showing the application of angle stripsfor strengthening the corners of the trunk and Fig. 6 a view of one ofsaid strips detached.

A is the body of the trunk or box, on the interior of the back, front,ends and bottom of which are screwed or otherwise attached, bearingplates B. These bearing plates B are fiat and preferably circularin formwith their peripheries scalloped or provided with radial projections Bor having sockets formed in nected with them, as will now be described,

and at the same time reinforce the edges, corners, and the severaljunctions of the receptacle.

The stays proper G, C, O and O are constructed preferably of hard wood,thin metal, or any other suitable material, oblong in cross section andwhen formed of wood are preferably provided with metal knuckle plates Dat their ends adapted to be connected in hinge form with knuckles D,projecting from the centers of the bearing plates B, by pins E. The stayC extends in one piece, thin edge upward, between the bearing platescarried by the back and front sides of the trunk; those 0 0 beingarranged flatwise, or broad side upward between the bearing plates atthe ends of the trunk and a connecting plate F carried in a centralposition on' the bottom edge of the stay 0 and to which they are hinged,the stay 0 which is located between such connecting plate F and thebearing plate on the bottom of the trunk being detachab'ly hinged tosuch plate by knuckles and a removable pin E as before'described. Thislast stay C is rendered extensible as to length by making it in twoparts slotting one of such parts and passing a set screw 0 through suchslot to the other part, thus allowing it to be contracted in length andturned upon its hinge connection with the plate F to the position shownby dotted lines in Fig. 3.

The parts above described are specially adapted to strengthen thebottom, ends and back and front of the trunk and I will now describe thestaying arrangement for the corners formed by the junction of the back,front and ends of the box.

A plate G having four knuckles G G G G each at an angle to the centerthereof which is perforated to fit over the plate F is secured to thestay 0 preferably by riveting and has hinged to such knuckles in thesame manner as the stay 0 is to the plate F four other stays G G2 G Gextending flatwise from such plate to the corners of the trunk as shownwhere their ends, which are provided with foot plates G carrying asliding bolt g and projecting lugs g g are connected to corner plates Gsuitably secured in place and having sockets hh h to receiverespectively the bolt g and lugs g g.

The object of hinging the stays as shown and described is that byreleasing the one C from the bearing plate on the bottom of thereceptacle it can be turned up and held to stay 0 and by disconnectingthe stays C C -F F from their bearing plates at the ends and cornersrespectively of the receptacle they can be turned up and held together,or the whole arrangement, after releasing the pin connecting the stay (3to the front hearing plate, can be swung to the back of the receptacleor to one side leaving the contents of the bottom free, and,furthermore, by releasing stay 0 from the bearing plate at the back ofthe receptacle the entire stay arran gement can be removed altogetherfrom position if desired.

An arrangement almost precisely similar to that used for the bottom ofthe receptacle is applied to the under side of the top of the lid, Jbeing the bearing plate, J the vertical stay in this case usually in onepiece and J a fourarmed stay arranged fiatwise and corresponding inposition to the stays O and O (1'. The lower face of this stay J isflush with the edge of the lid and its ends made preferably in dovetailform so as to resist strain inward or outward. A similar stay to J andlettered J is also run upon the upper edge of the receptacle directlyunder the stay J for the same purpose.

To strengthen the corners formed by the junctions between the bottom,back, front and ends of the receptacle body and the like junctions inthe top, I take strips, K, of metal somewhat greater in length than thewidth, transverse reach, or depth of the parts of the trunk enumerated,slit centrally at both ends and in equal proportions of their excessivelength over the corners they are to fill, those which are to be placedin the horizontal corners; bend them longitudinally on the line of suchslits to a transverse right angle and then bend the divided ends in tooverlap and form, so to speak, an angle iron with two sides and squareends. The strips filling the vertical corners, will of course, only beslit at and have one end bent in square, and on reference to Fig. 5 itwill readily be seen that when the several strips are set in positionwith their square ends nested together the corners of the receptaclewill be well-nigh indestructible. The several stays could of course bemade of metal rods and adjustable as to length by constructing them intwo parts, screw threading the meeting ends, and

using right-and-left-hand screwed couplin The bearing plates, anglestrips and corner plates will be secured in place in any suitable Way byscrews, rivets, &c.

hat I claim is as follows:

1. A stay for trunks, boxes and other re ceptacles, composed of bearingplates-secured internally to the center of the bottom, sides and ends ofthe trunk, box or receptacle,-and a removable stay or stays connectedwith such plates, for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination with the bottom, sides, ends and corners of atrunk;-of bearing plates secured to such parts, and a removable stay orstays connected with such plates for the purposes set forth.

3. -In combination with the back and front of a trunk or box,bearingplates secured to such parts, stay 0, and means for locking the ends ofsame to said plates so as to hold such plates and the parts carryingthem against bulging movement inward or outward.

4.. The combination with the back and front, the ends and bottom of atrunk or box,of bearin g plates secu red to such parts, and stays withmeans for pivotally and removably connecting such stays with each otherand with said plates, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the lid of a trunk,of a bearing plate on theinside of same, a horizontal stay secured at its ends to the edges ofsuch lid and a vertical stay between the bearing plate and saidhorizontal stay, all as herein set forth.

6. In combination with the body of a trunk, vertical plates in thecorners: a central plate secured to stay 0 and radial arms hingedthereto and bearing against corner plates, all as herein set forth.

7. The combination with the body of a trunk, and removable stays, of thecorner plates G with means for locking such stays and plates together,and corner strips K K as and for the purposes set forth.

8. The combination with the dovetail notched edges of the trunk and itslid, of the stays J 2 J 3 having their ends dovetailed to fit suchnotches, for stiffening the edges of the trunk as shown.

Montreal, 17th day of July, 1891.

J. T. DWYER. Witnesses:

FRED J. SEARS, OWEN N. EVANS.

